Blog - About Japan

Why would you want to? For people who have an interest in Japan, learning Japanese is a dream. But learning Japanese is hard. Truthfully, textbooks and typical courses don’t prepare you for learning to communicate in Japanese. One of the biggest points is that they push the “proper” or polite . . . Read More . . .

No way! When I was first studying Japanese in college, my professor told us about the JET program. It was a way for people to go to Japan to live and teach English. I thought, “No way!” I’d never live in a foreign country! (I’ve been here for almost 13 . . . Read More . . .

5 day weekend! One of the many things that surprised me after coming to Japan was the large number of national holidays. Like most Americans, I had a very strong stereotypical image of Japanese people. Work was everything and your own pursuits don’t matter. To be honest, that is . . . Read More . . .

Spring has sprung In earlier posts, I mentioned that the new year (fiscal, school, etc.) begins in April. I guess it’s a habit from the Lunar calendar. April is also the time for one of the most exciting (to Japanese people) events of the year. Ummm, they’re just . . . Read More . . .

Spring is in the air! Back home, that’d sound like a good thing, but not in Japan. Japan has very distinct “events” through the year, and allergy season is one of them. Even though I grew up in an agricultural valley (a big one) I never had allergy problems. In . . . Read More . . .

Spring is almost here! Yep, that’s what I said, spring. In Asia, people traditionally followed the lunar calendar. The new year starts in February and this is also considered the beginning of spring. In all fairness, there are some trees that blossom in February. Where I live, the plum blossoms . . . Read More . . .

The end is near! (And a new beginning too) Christmas is over and Japan’s biggest holiday is here. Everyone is busy running around trying to prepare. Food prices are going up and students are enjoying their holidays. Not much for a foreign guy to do except stay home and hide . . . Read More . . .